Teachers get antsy over expired contract

Much like their West Hempstead counterparts, teachers in the Malverne school district are getting antsy about working with an expired contract.

Whereas the West Hempstead teachers’ union — the West Hempstead Education Association — has been vocal and active, fervently protesting the Board of Education’s impasse declaration made earlier this year, the Malverne Teachers’ Association is only now starting to grumble.

The MTA’s contract expired on July 1 and formal negotiations with the Malverne Board of Education started Sept. 14, according to MTA President Michelle Thomson.

“The negotiating team is confident that we can reach an agreement that is fair and equitable for our members,” she said, “and is at least comparable to other contracts that were settled in the district.”

Although board President Dr. Patrick Coonan said negotiations are not stalled and that both parties met just last week, he was reluctant to spout confidence.

“We are just far apart,” he said, “and there is too much uncertainty in Albany to make any definitive money deals until we know what the financial implications set by the new state government are to the district.”

Board member Gina Genti said the problem is not the local negotiations, but the cost drivers.

“Health care and pensions costs have been rising at unsustainable rates for years. Couple that with a near insolvent state and 9 percent unemployment, reduced state revenues cutting into school aid and that fact that [Long Island] partially finances upstate schools because we are ‘wealthier’ and ‘can afford to’ and here we are,” Genti said. “People will argue that teacher salaries are to blame, and I disagree. Without the teacher, there is no student or product, and Malverne’s teachers are not overpaid by LI standards. When Albany tackles pension reform [and] spiraling health care costs, and public employees start paying more for their benefits, as the private sector does, we can get a better picture of the state of financing public education. It’s not the front-end of the contracts that are discouraging: it’s the back end.”

Teachers’ union representatives likely will not meet with the board’s labor lawyers to continue negotiations until after the new year.

Read about the West Hempstead teachers' negotiations process